Card index



Jan. 3,' 1950 w. P. DE sAUssURE CARD INDEX 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan.1l, 1946 INI/ENTOR,

Jan. 3, 1950 w. P. DE sA-UssURE CARD INDEX 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan.11., 1946 JNI/ENTOR,

BY 5 www, MW ""TTOJUVEYAr Patented Jan. 3, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE CARD INDEX William P. De Saussure, Englewood, N. J.

Application. January 11, 1946, seriall No. 640,551

solaires. (Chiesa-16) My invention relates more particularly to certainimprovements I have made in cardehold'ers for visible card-indiceswhereof the cards are nested in overlapping positions so that ra narrowportion of each card will be exposed for ident'fication of the subjectmatter contained on the unexposed portion of the card. The improvementsto which I refer have to do with the construction of the individualcard-carriers.' anjd their relation to the frame of the c'ard-holder,lto per'- mit ready insertion and removal of the cards separately ortogether and convenient access t'o the body of any particular card forYexamination or for making entries thereon Without removing its carrierfrom the holder, also for permitting wide variation in the depth of thecards and for preventing tangling or mispl'acements thereof.Furthermore, my improvements include the designing of the individualcard-carriers and the frame of the holder so that a minimum of thicknessis added to the thickness of acard when attached to its carrier, withthe result that the index in its normal or resting position with only avery narrow portion of each card exposed, presents a substantially hatunobs'cured surface for reading. Finally, the holder has been designedior the ready transfer of the contentsas a whole from one holder toanother.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a practical embodiment of myinmprovements is illustrated, Fig. 1 is a perspective View ofthecard-holder or frame with a column of cardcarriers and attached cardsdisposed therein and shown in their normal relation to each other with anarrow portion of each attached card exposed to view. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of a keeper which rests upon the top of the column ofcards and their carriers. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of another formof keeper. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a card-carrier without anattached card. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the cards whichmay be used in the holder, the bottom of said card being broken away .toindicate that the cards may vary considerably in depth. Fig. 6 is adetail view of a portion of one of the card-carriers and its attachedcard. Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views on a larger scale, showing a partof the inner face of one of the side members of the holder or frame andits relation to the keeper and cardcarriers. .And Figs. 9 and l() aredetail views of the lower' or bottom part of the holder or frame.

As will be understood from 1, my improved card-holder or frame, when inuse, will be dis- Yposed in an upright and preferably verticaly posiofthe frame. with longitudinal grooves i4 which desirablv extend from thetop to the bottom of the' frame- Each of these grooves is preerablyformed: by a longitudinal ridge or strip l5 integral with thecorrespondingv side member and a ilange iconstituting the front face' ofthe side member and extending the full length thereor", Each oftheridges` l5 has a recessv il near its upperv end, one purpose of whichis to` make VVroom* for the swinging of a hinged cover plate |`8 at thetop' of the frame. The endsof the forward edge of this cover plateventer the recesses l1 when it swings into its closingV position; andwhen in that position its further -upward movement is checkedv bytheup'per edges of these recesses, as indicated in Fig. 1. The hinges I9of the cover plateV preferably operate with suilicient friction to hold`the `plate in any 'position Vto which it ismoved.

Atthe' lower or. bottom end of the frame `oa recess 2li is provided ineach of the ridges I5 to Apermit al bottom plate` 2l to be attached toand detached frorrr the frame. The side vedges; of thisbottom plate areAreceived in the grooves I4' of the side members oiV the frame, and thelower edge or end of this plate is shortened: by being cut awaysuciently as shown at 22 (Figs. 9 and 10) so that the lower ends of itsside edges may enter these recesses andjits lower edgerest upon thelower edgeso saidv recesses. To retainv or lock this plate in position,astrip 23 may be secured toits lower edge for engagement below saidrecesses with the rearwardly facing sides of the ridges l5'. Inattaching the bottom vplate to the frame, its top end is .inserted intothe lower ends ofV the grooves, M and the plate` is pushed upwardlyuntil the ends of' the strip' 23 can be passed' through the' recesses2l); then it ispushed' down Slightly so thatl the @.IlS. Df its bottomedge will rest' upon the lower .edges of said recesses (Fig. 10). Toremove this plate, these operations are obviously 'tor be performed inreverse order.

.55. lEach card-carrier 24 is preferably made `from Yfrom the grooves I4of the frame.

thin flat metal strip around which is folded the top edge portion 25 ofa car 26 (Figs. 4, 5 and 6) which is thus hung on its carrier along itsfoldline denoted in Fig. 5 of the drawings by the perforations 21. Eachcard-carrier has near its center an outwardly projecting lug or finger28 which is passed through one of the perforations to position and holdthe card thereon. The ends of these carriers are received in the groovesI4 of the side members of the frame and havea loose rectangular t withsaid grooves the purpose of which is to permit the carriers to tiltslightly about their longitudinal axes when the cards are nested oneabove another in the holder,Y

but at the same time to limit such tilting so that the visible orexposed narrow portions 29 of the cards when the latter are nested willeach present a substantially at vertical surface for reading and not beobscured by` excessive tilting. If the grooves themselves are maderectangular, the loose rectangular t therein of the card-carrier endsmay be secured by providing each carrier end with a pair of spacedrectangular forwardly projecting ears 30 of Ysuitable dimensions topermit the limited tilting desired. When the cardcarriers, with theirattached cards, are assembled as a column in the holder or frame oneabove another as shown in Fig. 1, and with the body of each cardoverlapping the body of the card next below it in the shallow spacewithin the holder, each card-carrier will be supported by the one nextbelow it on account of the endsV of the former resting upon the ends ofthe latter in the grooves I4, except that the lowermost card-carrier inthe column will be supported upon the top of the aforesaid bottom plate2 I. Since each carrier, when made as specified of very thin metal stripfor compactness and lightness, will be quite exible, it is desirable toprovide meansfor stiffening the column as a whole, that is, to give itmore rigidity than the individual carriers alone possess; and this Iaccomplish by extending the lower edge 3I of each carrier substantiallybelow the end portions thereof so that when theV cardsV are nested inthe frame, the lower edge of each carrier will overlap the upper edge ofthe carrier. (and card attached thereto) next below it. This extensionof the lower edges ofthe carriers, however, necessitates that portionsof thelower edge of each carrier lying near the grooves of the frame becut away slightly as shown at 32, to permit the insertion and removal ofthe carriers The insertion in the frame of a single carrier with itsattached card is accomplished as follows: the lower end of the card isrst introduced into the holder so that it will pass behind the card nextbelow, and then the carrier is tilted sidewise so that its ends can beinserted in the grooves I4 in the side members, whereupon it will dropinto place. If the insertion is to be made between two carriers andtheir attached cards already in the holder, the upper carrier is firstlifted by its finger 28 (and carries With it all Ythe carriers above it)and, while keeping these carriers raised, the new carrier, withV itsattached card, is inserted in the manner just explained. The withdrawalof an individual cardcarrier, with its attached card, is accomplished inthe reverse order. If it is desired to detach and remove a card from itscarrier without re'- moving the carrier from the frame, this is easilydone by vraisingthe carrier next above and inserting ones finger behindthe ilap 25 (Fig. 6) of 4 the card to be removed so as to reachunderneath the lower edge of said flap and liftit upwardly andoutwardly, thereby disengaging the card from the linger 28 of thecarrier, whereupon the card may be withdrawn from the frame, leaving itscarrier in its normal position therein with its front face exposed, thusshowing that it has no attached card. To all such carriers disposed inthe frame with their front faces exposed, cards may be readilyattachedwithout removing them from the frame, all as will be understoodfrom the foregoing.

Since the column of card-carriers and attached cards is freely slidableupward as a whole, and

also from and above any intermediate card-carrier, the body of anyparticular card may be imvmediately exposed to View by simply pushingupwardly on the projecting finger 28 of the cardcarrier to which thatcard is attached; and since the cards are nested compactly together,those cards above that particular card, together with the dependingportion of the keeper hereinafter described, will cause that card topresent a substantially flat surface for easy reading. Moreover, ifentries are to be made on that card, its lower flap 26, after exposurein the manner just explained, may readily be'withdrawn from the holderand the column then allowed to resume its normal position with said flapyprojecting from the holder, as indicated by the broken lines of Fig. 1.Thereafter, by holding a hard at surface beneath the projecting ap, theentries may conveniently be made thereon.

To prevent sidewise tilting of the carriers in the column when thelatter, as a whole or any of the carriers thereof, is raised, a keeper33 may .be provided. As shown in Fig. 2,'this keeper has a top portion34 adapted to rest on the top cardcarrier in the holder (Figs. l, 2 and7), the ends yof which portion are held in the grooves I 4 of the sidemembers, an intermedate portion the ends of which are recessed at 35to'engage or embrace vthe ridges I5, and a downwardly extending portionor portions 36 Ywhich may rest upon the back of the top card and thuskeep the cards closely compacted Vand free from tangling. A modifiedform of keeper is shown in Figs. 3 and 8, whereof theintermediateportion 31 extends backwardly and its ends are recessed at38 to engage or embrace the ridges l5 and from the rear edge of Vwhichthe downwardly extending portion or portions 39 depend, and an upwardlyand backwardly extending portion 40 of this keeper has the upper ends ofits side edgesrcut away at 4I. This keeper performs all the functions ofthe keeper rst described and, in addition, when the column ofcard-carriers is raised so that the upwardly extending portion '4tlg ofthe keeper is on a level with the recesses I'I of the ridges I5, theweight of the intermediate portion 3l and the depending portions 39cause the ends of its upper edge 42 (Fig. 8) to engage the upper edgesof the recesses Il and check the further upward movement of the keeperand column. Hence, When this modified form of keeper is used, the coverplate I8 may be dispensed with.

Whenever it is desired to transfer the Whole orY part of the contentsyof one holder or frame to another, the hinged cover I8 of the former isswung back out of the way and after the bottom plate 2i of the newholderY is removed its lower end is placed flush aaginst the top end ofthe first holder so that grooves I4 in the side members of both holderswill be in register. While the two holders are held in that position,either manually or by a suitable frame-connector (not shown), thetransfer may be made by sliding the cardcarrier column upwardly from thefirst holder into the new one and then restoring the bottom plate of thenew holder to its operative position.

I desire to call attention to the fact that in addition to having theadvantages particularly alluded to in the beginning, my improvementsmake it practicable to enclose and retain index cards entirely Within acontainer (save for their index portions which are always visible) andat the same time provides ready and immediate access thereto forexamination or new entries. In respect of this, one important feature ofmy invention which I believe to be new in this art, is the passing ofeach card over the iront face of its carrier (so that its narrow indexportion will always be visible) and thence back into the frame of thecontainer behind the card on the carrier next below where it will be outof the way and therefore less liable to become tangled, worn or injuredthan if constantly exposed to contact from the outside.

I Claim as my invention:

1. A card-holder for a visible card-index in combination with cardsdisposed entirely Within the frame of the holder so that no portion ofany card is normally positioned at or in front oi? the face of theholder except a narrow visible index portion near the top of the card,said holder ncluding a column of individual flat card-carrier stripswhereof the front face of each strip is covered by the index portion ofthe card supported thereon, said card passing over said face and thenceinto the interior of the holder and behind the card supported on thecarrier strip next below, said holder having side members rigidlysecured to each other and provided in their respective inner faces withlongitudinally extending grooves rectangular in cross section andwherein the ends of the carrier strips are received, each end of eachcarrier strip having a pair of spaced rectangular ears substantiallyperpendicular to its face, each successive carrier strip in the columnbeing supported on the ears of the carrier strip next below it, and saidears having a free fit in said grooves so as to permit a slight tiltingof each carrier strip for nesting the cards without obscuring the indexportion of any card, and characterized by this: that the side members ofthe frame of said holder each have a longitudinally extending inwardlyfacing ridge, these ridges forming with the front faces of said sidemember-s the grooves aforesaid and having recesses therein near theirlower ends, and said holder having a detachable bottom plate the upperedge of which supports the column of cardcarrier strips and the sideedges of which are disposed in said grooves and are cut away at theirlower ends so that the ends of the lower edge of said plate may restupon the lower edges of the Cil aforesaid recesses in the ridges, andmeans to retain the lower ends of the edge of said plate in engagementwith the lower edges of said recesses.

2. A card-holder for a visible card-index in combination with cardsdisposed entirely within the frame of the holder so that no portion ofany card is normally positioned at or in front or the face of the holderexcept a narrow visible index portion near the top of the card, saidholder including a column of individual at card-carrier strips whereofthe front face of each strip is covered by the index portion of the cardsupported thereon, said card passing over said face and thence into theinterior of the holder and behind the card supported on the carrierstrip next below, said holder having side members rigidly se cured toeach other and provided in their respective inner faces withlongitudinally extending grooves rectangular in cross section andwherein the ends of the carrier strips are received, each end of eachcarrier strip having a pair off spaced rectangular ears substantiallyperpendicular to its face, each successive carrier strip in the columnbeing supported on the ears of the carrier strip next below it, and saidears having a free t in said grooves so as to permit a slight tilting ofeach carrier strip for nesting the cards without obscuring the indexportion of any card, and characterized by this: that each of said sidemembers of the frame has a longitudinally extending inwardly iacingridge, these ridges forming with the front faces of said side membersthe grooves aforesaid and having recesses therein near their upper ends,and that the column of card-carrier strips has a keeper resting on thetop strip of the column to prevent endwise tilting of the strips whenthe column is raised, said keeper comprising a strip having a backwardlyextending portion recessed at its ends to embrace said ridges and anupwardly extending portion the ends of which lie in said grooves and theupper portion yof the side edges of which are cut away, whereby when thecolumn is raised the weight of the backwardly extending portion of thekeeper will cause the upper edge of its upwardly extending portion toengage the upper edges of said recesses.

WILLIAM P. DE SAUSSURE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the nie ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,227,660 Rand May 29, 19171,365,388 Ede Jan. 11, 1921 1,508,779 Dumont Sept. 16, 1924 1,695,698Ringler Dec. 18, 1928 1,741,586 Russell et al Dec. 31, 1929 1,886,453Szepesi Nov. 8, 1932

